Raith Rovers (away) Bells Scottish League First Division - Saturday August 14th 1999 Match report by Roving Ross Lafferty Final Score            Raith Rovers          0          St.Mirren             6   Where do I start?No words can really describe how good this feels,in fact the feel good factor has now just turned into fits of laughter such was the unbelievable standard of Saints’ performance. To put it crudely,we were f***ing amazing. The result felt even better when I remembered that 7 years and two weeks ago,tomorrow, Saints were hammered 7-0 by what was,probably,the greatest Raith Rovers side in history. At long last we have got our own back and put them firmly in their place as the wee diddy side that they most definitely are. The table’s have turned since then and,without wanting to get carried away too much,it is us who at long last have a real chance of getting back where we belong-The Scottish Premier League. Barry Lavety could be the final piece of the puzzle and his selection in the starting line up,along with Mark Yardley and Junior Mendes made a big difference to a Saints side which had struggled to score in their only two games of the season,so far. Lavety was in the midst of things up until he was replaced by Tom Brown midway through the second half and he should’ve opened the scoring in the very first minute when his left foot drive from 6 yards rattled an upright. Nineteen minutes later though he made no mistake as he latched on to a poor Marvin Andrews pass back and slid the ball past Raith keeper Guido Van De Kamp. Saints kept the pressure up and Iain Nicolson,Yardley and Mendes all came close before Scott Walker added a second in the 29th minute. Chris Kerr delicately chipped a free kick into the box and Walker grabbed his first goal for the club with a deft header from 10 yards. All was looking incredibly rosy for the Paisley Brazilians as Ian Ross also opened his St.Mirren goalscoring account 4 minutes before half time. It may have been the third goal he had conceded but Van De Kamp’s nightmare was only beginning as his poor kick out went straight to Lavety. After a few ricochets the ball fell to Ross and with the goalkeeper poorly placed he slotted the ball home from the edge of the penalty area. With Saints cruising the chants of “we want seven” were just starting up as Ludovic Roy made his first save of the game on the stroke of half time. The French goalkeeper pulling off an excellent one handed save from a Kenny Black volley. Rovers’ manager- the excellent(heehee) John McVeigh- rang the changes at half time but,if anything,it made the game even more one sided in Saints’ favour. Perhaps he should’ve taken off Andrews- another player in blue having an experience they’d rather forget- who conceded the freekick which eventually led to the fourth goal. He couldn’t cope with the power of Lavety and Yardley up front and with Lavety running into a corner the big Trinidadian hauled him to the ground. Again Chris Kerr took the kick and again it was headed into the net for a goal,this time though Yardley getting on the end of Kerr’s delivery. It was big Yards,with his second, who added a fifth,the result of some comical goalkeeping by Van De Kamp. With the ball bouncing towards his area he got caught in a state of confusion over whether to head the ball or catch it. In the end he did neither as Yardley nipped in,chipped it over the Dutch clown and tapped the ball into the empty net. The home fans had long since left when Steven McGarry completed the scoring with eight minutes remaining. Once more, the Raith No.1 (I can’t even be bothered typing his name again) gifted the goal,when he waited(and waited,and waited......) for Greg McCulloch to clear when it was obvious he should've claimed the ball instead.McCulloch never obliged, “Muscles” grabbed possession and,as if to rub it in,walked the ball into the net. Cries of ,“you got the last f***ing manager sacked and you’ll get me the sack as well.....it’s f***cking embarrassing”, could be heard from the dressing room after the match.Now I knew Tom Hendrie was demanding but............ Raith Rovers:Van de Kamp, Hamilton, McCulloch, Andrews, Gaughan, Black (Kirkwood 45), S.Tosh, Agnew, P.Tosh (Clark 45), Burns, Stein (McEwan 45) St.Mirren: Roy, Nicolson, Kerr, Turner, McLaughlin, Walker (Baltacha 67), Murray, Ross (McGarry 71), Lavety (Brown 62), Mendes, Yardley Sizzling Saint: Well it could be anyone of 14 -even the subs were outstanding when they came on - but it gives me great pleasure to say this, Mark Yardley is this weeks Sizzling Saint.The big man was, quite simply, outstanding.